Human Existence and Human Suffering Essay - 1920 Words

All throughout our history, we humans have constantly evolved and developed to an extent where we can give an account to the world we live in. From Epicurus to Thomas Aquinas, from Aristotle -who taught one of the greatest kings namely Alexander the Great- to Sartre and Camus were all for the search of why we are on this planet. What drives us to live or perhaps to die, even if it is by one’s own hand. When arguing about the meaning of life, one has to take into account that every doctrine, thesis, antithesis, thought and emotion can only be explained and defined through the human perspective. It can be said that humans see the world through a specific lens, which is not only a cultural and political one, but a human one. We are limited in†¦show more content†¦Defining 200.000 years in ratio to 12 billion Julian years one will get a percentage of 0.00142%. To put it in other numbers one would have to live human history 70.000 times to reach the â€Å"Big Bang†. It is important to be aware of where humans stand in the face of time and space when it comes to existentialism. Since we all live in tempus et spatium. Connected to this, the paper will try to explain: In what form does human suffering shape human existence, and to what extent does it need to shape our lives? The following essay will draw a comparison between Camus and Sartre on human existentialism. The thesis will argue against the Camusian concept of essence before existence. The paper will also compare for the concept that the Absurd and Man are not opposed to each other, but exist in a juxtaposed coherence. Sartre’s main argument is that human beings have no essence before existence, thus humans are destined to be free, where God is non-existent. Therefore â€Å"existence precedes essence† (Sartre:5). First of all man comes into being and only after that he start defining himself and the world around him. Sartre being an atheist believes that God does not exist and humans are left alone without excuse, bearing full responsibility of their acts. He believes that death in itself gives meaning to our free, individual existence. Our choices define who and what we become, whereShow MoreRelatedThe Sickness Onto Death And Sartre1539 Words   |  7 Pagescontemporary inauthentic living through an idea he calls â€Å"Bad Faith†. Both Kierkegaardian Despair and Sartrean Bad Faith involve human suffering not at a psychological or physical level, but rather an existential level. I strongly believe that the individuals suffer more from Despair than Bad Faith, as there are aspec ts of nothingness and anguish of Bad Faith that intensify the suffering. â€Å"The Sickness onto Death† by Kierkegaard encompasses the notion of inauthentic living. 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